Chlorella – action, properties and nutritional values of superalgae

Chlorella is an alga that has exceptional nutritional value and, consequently, health properties.Best known as a slimming measure.Few people know that chlorella can prevent a hangover, even when drinking large amounts of alcohol, protect pregnant women against anemia, relieve muscle and bone pain in the course of fibromyalgia and replace meat in a vegetarian diet.Check what else health-promoting action has chlorella.

Chlorella is a green algae growing in freshwater reservoirs in the Far East, which consists mainly of nuclei and large amounts of chlorophyll.It is to this last ingredient that it owes its deep green color, name and healing properties.Chlorella has the most chlorophyll not only from all algae, but also from all plants (3-5% pure chlorophyll).In addition, chlorella provides amino acids, sugars, nucleic acids and vitamins (primarily B vitamins, vitamins A, C and folic acid) and many other substances.Thanks to this, chlorella is one of the best food substances facilitating the regeneration and cleansing of the body.

Chlorella has even stronger effects than spirulina and is one of the most comprehensive food sources on earth.No wonder that it belongs to the group of superfoods (superfoods), that is products that have extraordinary nutritional values.

Chlorella also has an interesting property called the chlorella growth factor (CGF).Thanks to the chlorella growth factor every 20 hours, it is multiplied by four times.After human consumption, chlorella rapidly accelerates the rate of tissue regeneration – the rate of repair of damaged tissues, thus restoring their lost functions.Thanks to this, chlorella accelerates, among otherswound healing.

Chlorella completely cleans the body

In alternative medicine, chlorella is considered to be the first-class detoxifying substance.Modern phytotherapy recommend chlorella to cleanse the body, and above all the liver – the organ responsible primarily for detoxification, from alcohol, heavy metals, pesticides and other harmful substances.

In 1973, Japanese scientists reported that taking 8 g chlorella a day increases the excretion of cadmium with faeces and seven times in the urine.Other scientists have shown that chlorella helps neutralize uranium, lead, mercury and arsenic.

Chlorella will help you get rid of the unpleasant smell from your mouth

The result of contamination of the body is, among othersunpleasant smell from the mouth and a specific smell of sweat.Chlorella, cleansing the body of harmful substances, will also help to get rid of this problem.

Chlorella for a hangover

Apparently taking chlorella before consuming even a lot of alcohol can prevent a hangover.According to dietitian Nikki Ostrower from NAO Nutrition (USA).However, he emphasizes that chlorella will work if it is accepted at least two hours before the event.

Then hangover will be much less annoying or will not appear at all.Chlorella supplements the shortage of all nutrients that are washed out of the body while drinking alcohol – says Nikki Ostrower.At the same time, he warns that taking chlorella not before and after a hard night will not give the same effect.It will also not protect the liver from damage caused by alcohol.

Chlorella can reduce the risk of developing cancer

Chlorella vulgaris, a variety often used in supplements, as well as other species of this alga may reduce the risk of cancer development.This is proven by many studies.One of them was carried out by scientists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.In their opinion, the Chlorella pyrenoidosa alga may prevent the development of breast cancer.The tests were performed in vivo and in vitro.In turn, scientists from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology argue that Chlorella ellipsoidea and Chlorella vulgaris can prevent the development of colon cancer.²

Chlorella strengthens immunity

Chlorella strengthens the immune system.From in vitro and animal studies, chlorella stimulates the production of white blood cells (leukocytes) and NK cells (natural killer – natural killer), which play an important role in defending the body (including bacterial fight against it) and viruses).

Chlorella can prevent anemia in pregnancy

Chlorella contains a lot of folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron, therefore it can prevent anemia in pregnancy, as well as problems with pregnancy-induced hypertension, convince specialists from Saiseikai Nara Hospital in Japan.

70 pregnant women participated in the study.38 of them were assigned to the control group and 32 to the group who received chlorella (daily after 6 g, until the pregnancy was terminated).The percentage of pregnant women with anemia who received chlorella was significantly lower compared to the control group (in the second and third trimesters).In addition, in the group of women who received chlorella, the incidence of proteinuria and edema, i.e. symptoms of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), was significantly lower in the third trimester of pregnancy than in women in the control group.These results suggest that taking chlorella supplements during pregnancy significantly reduces the risks associated with pregnancy anemia, proteinuria and edema.In addition, chlorella may be useful as a source of natural folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron for future mothers.

Chlorella relieves the symptoms of fibromyalgia

This conclusion was reached by scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University (USA).Twenty people struggling with fibromyalgia took part in the study – a disease characterized by persistent musculoskeletal pain and pain in certain places.The subjects consumed 10 g of Chlorella supplement in tablets and 100 ml in the form of a liquid every day for 2 months.Each symptom relief was checked and evaluated at visits to the clinic.After two months, an average 22% reduction in pain intensity was reported.

Chlorella for digestion and constipation

Chlorella is a prebiotic because it accelerates the rate of development of friendly Lactobacillus bacteria in the intestines, thanks to which it supports digestion.It also facilitates the absorption of nutrients.He can free from chronic constipation, neutralize intestinal gas and fight food poisoning.

Does Chlorella support weight loss?

Chlorella has a positive effect on health in many aspects – includingimproves the functioning of the immune system, supports the cleansing of the body of toxins, can inhibit the growth of cancer cells (Czerpak et al., 2009).It is also examined in aspects of the fight against obesity and metabolic diseases related to excessive body weight.Manufacturers of chlorella supplements advertise their product as a way to fight overweight.Is it right?Chlorella accelerates the excretion of toxic compounds from the body.This process alone can be beneficial in slimming down, because the effective elimination of unwanted ingredients allows you to achieve faster body balance, improve its functioning and better weight loss.Chlorella provides fiber, which has long been known as an ingredient that facilitates weight control.In scientific research we find confirmation of beneficial effects of chlorella in the fight against obesity and improvement of blood serum parameters related to body weight, such as cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose.

In a study conducted in Korea (Chon et al., 2009), it was found that the methanolic chlorella extract reduces the accumulation of lipids in fat cells and, consequently, slows down the growth of adipose tissue.It was postulated that this phenomenon may be the result of inhibiting adipogenesis, or a complicated process leading to the formation of adipocytes from preadipocytes.It is noted that the chlorella extract significantly inhibits the growth of preadipocytic cells.It was also found that the accumulation of triglycerides was much smaller in cells treated with chlorella, compared to those that were not treated.It was concluded that chlorella may hinder the formation of fat cells and reduce the accumulation of triglycerides in adipocytes.

Researchers at the State University of Campinas in Brazil (Vecina et al., 2014) have shown that chlorella prevents insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet in mice.Mice were divided into two groups.One was fed with a typical rodent food and the other with high fat food.They were then given a preparation of Chlorella vulgaris for 12 weeks.After treatment, increased sensitivity of tissues to insulin and a decrease in the level of cholesterol, triglycerides and free fatty acids in the blood of the tested mice were found.This suggests that chlorella is a good preventive measure against complications related to obesity.In a study conducted in Japan (Noguchi et al., 2013) it was shown that administration of chlorella preparations does not directly affect the scale of obesity in tested mice, however, a decrease in visceral fat, that is, the most dangerous one for health was observed.There was also a decrease in serum triglycerides in mice treated with algae and increased sensitivity of their cells to insulin.The experiment has shown that the use of chlorella inhibits the accumulation of visceral fat and triglycerides in the blood and regulates glucose and lipid metabolism disorders associated with a high-fat diet.

In conclusion – you can not treat chlorella supplements as a miracle cure for slimming.The supplement itself will not deal with overweight and obesity for us, but it will certainly help in combating metabolic problems associated with excessive body weight.In combination with proper nutrition and physical activity chlorella may accelerate the removal of fat tissue.

Chlorella can replace meat in a vegetarian diet

Chlorella is characterized by an unusually high protein content – up to 58 g of this valuable nutrient per 100 g.Its share is greater than the protein content in meat.For comparison – beef contains about 25-30 g of protein, and chicken about 24 g. The protein contained in chlorella is wholesome, because it contains essential amino acids in the proportions necessary for the human body.Therefore, chlorella is recommended in the vegetarian diet, as well as people who for various reasons should limit the amount of meat in the diet (eg in kidney diseases).